Killingworth mum is half the size she used to be after losing seven stones

Embarrassed mum Tracy Cairns, from Killingworth, North Tyneside, lost a massive seven stones to half her dress size

Tracy Cairns, 42, from Killingworth, North Tyneside, is half the woman she used to be after slashing her dress size from a 20 to a 10

Trim Tracy Cairns is half the woman she used to be after dropping her dress size from a 20 to a 10.

After years of being embarrassed about her weight the mum-of-two opted for a healthy lifestyle and is now scootering to school to pick up her kids.

And the 42-year-old is proud to get into her bather on the beach rather than hiding under her tent-like clothes when on holiday abroad.

“I feel like a new person. I’m full of energy and love to go out. I cycle with the kids and even jump on my son’s scooter when I pick him up from school. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”

At her heaviest Tracy was a whopping 19 stone. Now she is a slender 10 stone 4 and is buying clothes sized eight to 10.

She started with Slimming World in January 2012 at a weight of over 17 stones after doctors said she needed to lose two stones to have surgery for varicose veins. But once she stared, she couldn’t stop and lost a mountainous seven stones in total.

“When we used to go on holiday I would sit at the beach at the back and cover up. I was too embarrassed to sit in a swimming costume. But when I went in the sea with the kids, the walk down to the water was horrible. People would look at me, judging me.

“Now I’m happy to be on the beach on holiday and I play with the kids and feel proud. It’s amazing.”

Tracy, who has always struggled with her weight, had type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a BMI of 47 before joining Slimming World.

Now she swims two miles a week, cycles and scooters to and from school with her children, walks rather than taking the car and is hoping to complete a 10k run in April.

Changing her eating habits and becoming more active hasn’t only transformed Tracy on the outside, she feels like a new woman on the inside too.

Since losing the weight she is no longer classed as a diabetic, has normal blood pressure, normal cholesterol and her BMI has dropped to 22. She has had operations on her varicose veins and is now happy slipping on a figure hugging dress.

Tracy, who has a son and daughter, Samuel, seven, and four-year-old Jessica, added: “I might have lost almost 7st but I’ve gained so much more. I feel happier, healthier and have loads more confidence. I can’t believe the difference in me in just 24 months – and neither can my family and friends. I look so different that people don’t recognise me in the street, they walk past me and don’t realise it’s me.”

Tracy says her IT consultant husband Ali, 41, is very proud of her. She said: “We started dating in 1997 and married in 2005, but he never mentioned my weight. Now he tells me how proud he is and how he loves the way I look.”

She added: “I strangely kept some of my big clothes to remind me how big I used to be. I can fit in one leg of the trousers now.”

Rachel Falcus, who runs the Killingworth Bailey Green Slimming World group that Tracy attends, said: “Tracy is proof that if you make small, manageable changes the way you cook and eat and get the right support it is possible to make your New Year’s resolutions a reality. Tracy is an inspiration.” To join the group call Rachel on 07950 822853.

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